Rogue Windfinder
by Lanfear Lady of Chaos
Summary: A former Windfinder of the Sea Folk, Tovra must find her way without her people...
1. Browns and Books

Disclaimer: I'm making no money with this. The countries, places, and any characters I don't claim and make up belong to the great (bow down) Robert Jordan, except for those which other writers make up. They belong to those people.

Yes, yet ANOTHER WOT fanfic. I got bored, so I began this. I haven't done someone who channels before, but I think I'm hooked on the whole Warder thing...

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Zarin sat deep with in the White Tower, in the massive library. She had a stack of books in front of her, all opened. One by one, she would pull a book over and skim the page. All those books were copies of the Prophecies of the Dragon. Each was slightly different, but in any translation, the meaning was conveyed. With a sigh, Zarin pinched the bridge of her nose between two fingers. She had a stack of parchment near her, and a quill and inkwell. Taking notes on the Prophecies had seemed a good idea at first; much easier to carry around than a stack of books that would take an Ogier to move. No matter how good the idea was, Zarin realized that she would need a whole team of scribes to finish her task. She dared not trust anyone enough to show them what she had found, but... Zarin closed the books and slowly picked up a small stack. She turned to walk away, but she paused and looked at her stack of notes. Deciding that warding her notes would be easier than setting down her stack and storing the notes away, Zarin weaved a quick warding.

She hated to do it since she had worked so hard, but the dangers of a darkfriend finding out what she was doing were too great. Zarin walked toward one of the vaults where she had found the copies of the Prophecies. As she put her stack of books back, she pushed down the panic that had momentarily gripped her. The Black Ajah... The Tower had always firmly denied the existence of... that, but Zarin wasn't too sure anymore. Strange things were happening. Repressing a shudder, Zarin turned back. She would be leaving the Tower soon, away from the Black Ajah. However, if she planned on getting into places where she would need help, Zarin had to find a Warder. And soon.

xxxx

Tovra strode confidently along the Tower grounds, sure that her remotely ageless face and flawless composition would help her. She wasn't pretending to be Aes Sedai; oh no, never that; but if some thought she was...

If you looked closely, you could tell she had never trained at the Tower. An occasional unsure glance along corridors, uncertainty lay hidden barely beneath the surface. There was also a slight difference in their faces; where Aes Sedai couldn't have an age to them, you could tell Tovra was around 25, her youthfulness obvious.

She also bore remnants of her years with her people, the many jeweled stones and rings decorating her ears chained to the stud in her nose, jingling slightly when she walked with her swaying gait.

Coming to the large doors, she curtseyed to the Browns guarding it- _they_ could tell she was not Aes Sedai- and entered. She had heard this, the largest library on earth, contained lost legends of the Atha'an Miere. She hoped to find them. Leaving her notched sword breaker and slender double- edged sword at the entrance, she surveyed the vast arrays of books.

Swaying over to a random section, for she didn't know where to look, she started thumbing the scrolls and leather-bound volumes. Suddenly, as she was walking by a bent over woman, the person whirled around, crashing into Tovra.

Tovra went wide-eyed, stepping back and curtseying deeply. An Aes Sedai! She had run into an Aes Sedai! Thumbing her belt-knife as if she would need to protect herself, she stopped herself from embracing the Source. She was old enough to not be put in the Tower as a Novice, but...

Most startling of all, Tovra noticed a haunted look in this strange Brown's eyes. Remembering herself, Tovra curtseyed again.

"So sorry, Aes Sedai," she said smoothly. "I didn't mean to..."

"Are you hurt?"

xxxx

Zarin had just put her books back and was going back for another stack when she turned and ran into someone. She stumbled back a few steps before regaining her footing. Zarin looked at the person and her eyes widened slightly. The woman carried a knife, but that wasn't what shocked Zarin.

Zarin felt... connected to this woman. A feeling that only came when you were near a woman that could channel. "I am quite sorry, child. Walk with me." Zarin headed back to the table she had been sitting at, not looking back. From the woman's reaction, Zarin knew that she would follow.

When she was back at her table and saw that her stack of papers was intact. She sat down and looked at the woman expectantly, waiting for her to sit. "I am Zarin, of the Brown Ajah. What might your name be, child?"

xxxx

"I am quite sorry, child. Walk with me."

Tovra gaped at the Aes Sedai, then quickly hurried after her, medallions ringing. They reached a table piled high with parchments, and Tovra waited for the other woman- _Aes Sedai!_ she thought hurriedly- to sit, then pulled out a chair for herself.

"I am Zarin, of the Brown Ajah. What might your name be, child?"

A Brown. _Of course._ This was the library, after all...

"May the light shine on you, Zarin Sedai," she began, a proper greeting for an Aes Sedai.

"I am Tovra din Akarn Black Sails, former Windfinder of the Leaping Gull," she replied formally. Realizing she had a death-grip on her knife, she forced her hand to release it, placing her wave and bird tattooed hands carefully on the table.

Maybe she shouldn't have revealed that last part, but she doubted any on that ship would now acknowledge her existence. It didn't matter now.

Tovra gently brushed her straight black hair out of her dark eyes, watching the Aes Sedai's face. Her eyes glinted like black coals, glowing out of her dark face.

Remembering her scent-box made some uncomfortable, she quickly embraced the Source, and wove a net of air around it. Just as quickly, she released it, crushing any desire not to. Realizing what she had just done, her eyes widened, and she stared at the Aes Sedai.

_Uh oh..._


	2. Medallions

"May the light shine on you, Zarin Sedai. I am Tovra din Akarn Black Sails, former Windfinder of the Leaping Gull," the woman said. Zarin started to nod. Of course. An Atha'an Miere. The medallions shouted that a mile away. If Zarin had been paying proper attention, she would have noticed that. Few books had mentioned the Atha'an Miere, but those that did covered everything about them. And Windfinder... Most Aes Sedai had a theory that Windfinders could channel.

Zarin studied the Atha'an Miere -_Tovra,_ she told herself- as she brushed several locks of hair away from her eyes. Zarin herself sat with her hands in her lap, her face smooth so it wouldn't show what she was thinking. Her own bright blue eyes grew strangely distant as she lost herself in thought. For a moment, Zarin forgot Tovra was there. Just for a moment.

Blinking in surprise, the glow that surrounded Tovra for an instant that marked a woman channeling brought Zarin out of her thoughts. The glow quickly vanished, but not before Zarin saw the flows of Air being woven in an intricate pattern.

With a soothing smile for Tovra, who looked like a deer about to bolt, Zarin spoke. "Yes, child. I know that you can channel. I could sense it in you as soon as we met. The Power is strong in you, stronger than most in the Tower. Some would want to put you in novice white as soon as they saw you, but I will not. Even if I were one of them, the novice book is closed for those past a certain age."

Zarin looked at the table, and, seeing her stack of papers, channeled a small thread of Fire and Air before picking up the stack and setting it on her lap. "However, we should probably get you away from the Tower. I was planning on leaving for Cairhien, and I feel that you should come with me."

Zarin spoke the truth, she was headed for Cairhien first, but after... After, she was not sure where the trail of the Black Ajah would lead her.

xxxx

Tovra looked calmly again at this Aes Sedai, a bland look on her face. Get her out of the Tower?... She had known for many years the age limit for the Novices- it had been drilled into her head as soon as they had learned she could channel. They couldn't put her in the Novice books now- or would they? Feeling apprehensive, yet suspicious, she regarded Zarin Sedai carefully.

She was honestly stronger than most in the Tower? By the Three Oaths, she knew it to be true, but how could it be? She had been barely strong enough to pass the tests for Windfinder... She was one of the weakest. Or had been.

Maybe she needn't be so worried of these Aes Sedai. Yet there were many here. Even if they said there was so few, they easily had enough to overpower her and even twenty of her sisters.

Now she had another option open. In truth, she hadn't wanted to find out about her people. She had just thought it would be something to do. Her life had been so empty after... after...

Tovra sighed. There was honestly no reason why she shouldn't agree to go with this woman. She was just making excuses, born of her inborn unease around Aes Sedai. Choosing her words carefully, she spoke softly and deliberately.

"I would be honored to accompany you, Zarin Sedai. If it pleases the light, I would like to perhaps go as your... protector? To earn my way? Perhaps that would be enough for a gift of passage. I am quite proficient with weapons..." She glanced meaningfully at her small steel pile of sword and others at the door.

"And they are not the only means I have to protect." She meant her ability to channel, of course. No Three Oaths held her.

She found the Oaths a scornful thing, as they twisted words so much you wish they would just outright lie, and to not attack first when faced with an enemy was foolish. The weapon oath was also foolish- could you not make a sword quicker and sharper than a smith? She had seen Aes Sedai work from the Age of Legends, before the Oaths- they were wonders.

xxxx

Zarin smiled, and followed Tovra's gaze to the pile of steel that had been laid at the door. "And they are not the only means I have to protect." Zarin jerked her eyes back to the woman. Of course. The Three Oaths. It would be useful, having someone not bound by the Oath Rod.

"As you probably know," Zarin said, "the first Oath is to speak no word that is not true. Bound by that Oath, I can say without hesitation that I would be honored to have you along. And that would be a wonderful gift of passage."

Zarin had studied all the books that mentioned the Atha'an Miere and she had even spoken with a few. Even so, she had only a vague idea of what the gift of passage was, but she had schooled her face that none of it showed.

"Now, child." Zarin paused. "Or should I call you my Gaidin?" Zarin raised an eyebrow in questioning. "As my protector, it wouldn't do to have you... indisposed while in a battle. Do you have a ring or something that I could see for a moment? If not that, one of your medallions would do," Zarin said, gesturing at the medallions that ran on a chain from her nose to ear.

xxxx

In the little time she had been in Tar Valon, Tovra had learned the basics of Aes Sedai and their 'culture'; the basics of each Ajah, and about Warders. She was slightly annoyed this Aes Sedai would make such a simple mistake- female Warders were Gaidar, and she was clearly female- but what had she meant by that? Were Warders not somehow bonded to their Aes Sedai? Like many, she didn't know exactly what it entailed.

Shrugging, she delicately reached towards her face-chain, her most prized possession. She knew every medallion on it by heart. Carefully selecting one, she unhooked a small silver one, a Raker with billowing black sails engraved in it. The blackness was a special Atha'an Miere secret, and the medallion had been her gift when she had received her second name. It was her favorite of the little disks hanging from the chain.

She slowly offered it on her palm, tattoos down. She hoped it wouldn't be marred, but it sounded like she was about to... receive something? A curious yet wary look appeared on her face.

"If you wish it, you may call me whatever you like," she told the ageless face.


	3. The Meaning of Protection

Zarin took the medallion that was handed to her. She opened herself to saidar, surrendering to the sweetness that was the Power. She gently wove flows of Air and Spirit into the black medallion. It was a trick that she had learned as a novice. By placing flows in an object, the Power would protect a woman from shielding.

Zarin tied off the weaves, and, with effort, let go of saidar. She handed the medallion back to Tovra and smiled. "So, I'll assume that you wish to be bonded. Is that what you meant by 'protector'?" Zarin folded her hands. Someone came by and picked up the stack of books that was left, and Zarin forced herself to not look at her bundle of papers.

She truly hoped that this woman wished to become a Warder. Zarin had a great need of one, now that the Dragon had been Reborn. Just thinking those words made her mouth go dry.

xxxx

Tovra carefully took her medallion back, discretely checking to see if it had been outwardly changed. Satisfied, she hooked it back onto her face chain, and considered what she had just seen and heard. The weaves that the Aes Sedai had woven were very delicate- something to do with prevention. She stored the incident away in the back of her mind, to inquire about at a later date.

Bonded. A Warder? Her? That would be a permanent position... But it would be something to do with her life. She felt a liking for this straightforward, to-the-point woman, and she didn't want to spend the rest of her days as a thief or Healer. Such callings were not for her.

She looked across the table, straight into the eyes of Zarin Sedai. Without blinking, she spoke simply, softly but firmly.

"Yes. I do."

She folded her own hands in turn, wondering what would happen. Would she receive a swirling cloak, as she had seen the warriors in the yards wear? She stilled her thoughts, he face a blank mask as Zarin Sedai spoke.

xxxx

Zarin gave a slight nod and a small smile. It was obvious that this woman was determined to be a Warder. Slowly, she stood and, moving closer to Tovra, embraced saidar.

Taking Tovra's head between her hands, Zarin wove the weaves that would bind the two together. The weaves encompassed both of them, and Zarin let go of saidar after finishing the bonding.

Zarin stepped back and took a deep breath. This was the first Warder she had since Aiden had died. It felt good to have another's emotions in the back of her mind like a bundle.

"Well." For a moment, Zarin thought of telling her new Warder of her plans, but a wave of fear hit her. It was the first time since she started her research that the true knowledge of what she was doing struck fear in her. The Dragon Reborn. What kind of chaos would strike the world for the Dragon Reborn to seem a pleasant alternative?

Aware of the fact that Tovra could feel her emotions made Zarin force down the fear. She smoothed her face in case any of the fear had shown on her face.

xxxx

Tovra took a deep breath, at the same time as Zarin Sedai- my Aes Sedai, she thought experimentally, and tentatively searched through the knot of emotions and feelings at the back of her head. Tovra knew that she could close her eyes and point exactly where Zarin was- an affect of the bond she hadn't known about.

As her Aes Sedai spoke- "Well."- Tovra felt a wave of fear surface among the many emotions. Fear, intensified by the fact it wasn't her own, but she yet felt it. Feeling it- and seeing it, no matter how she tried to hide it- she reached up, carefully placing a hand on Zarin's shoulder.

"Whatever we go to face, Zarin Sedai," she said quietly, "I will protect you from it. My life before yours," she swore. No need for fancy words. If you did not mean what you said, then no oath would hold you.

Her face crinkled in a slight smile, looking up at her charge. She liked this feeling, of being connected in the world. Connected to someone else.

"Zarin Sedai," she asked before the other had a chance to respond to her words, "Shall I get a shifting cloak, as the others have?" A twinkle came into her eye, trying to cheer up her gloomy Aes Sedai. _What could be so frightening an Aes Sedai is scared of it?_

xxxx

Zarin's eyes widened slightly as Tovra placed a hand on her shoulder. She was trying to comfort her! Zarin blinked then. She had forgotten momentarily that the bond would convey her feelings to her new Warder. It had been a long time since she had a Warder, and some things had slipped her mind.

"Whatever we go to face, Zarin Sedai, I will protect you from it. My life before yours." Zarin nodded slightly. That was the oath that Warders gave, but the other woman gave her no time to speak. "Shall I get a shifting cloak, as the others have?" Tovra asked, a twinkle in her eye.

Zarin almost laughed. She was sure that amusement was carried strongly through the bond. "Of course you may have a shifting cloak, if that is what you want," Zarin answered. She smiled at her Warder, but a stray thought entered her mind. Her smile faded as she asked, "How soon do you think you will be ready to leave? I have important... business."

Zarin was sure the Black Ajah was catching up to her. She just needed to take a path none of them would suspect. A Brown leaving the White Tower for an unknown destination would throw them off for a while, but it wouldn't be long enough. What would Tovra think if she told her that they were going into the lion's den with no weapons but their minds?

xxxx

"How soon do you think you will be ready to leave? I have important... business." She was surprised at this, as she hadn't expected they would leave so soon.

She gestured once more at her weapons- most of them, anyway, she thought, brushing her belt knife- and spoke softly. "I could leave this very minute, if you wish it, Zarin Sedai," she said. "All I need is my weapons." She shifted slightly towards them, feeling naked without her steel. _Still, I have the Power,_ she thought. But she only knew a few battle weaves. Still, bonds of Air and shields of Spirit were all she had needed in the past.

Remembering what else her Aes Sedai had just confirmed, she questioned again, carefully. "Would there be time to get a cloak?" She truly was interested in them; she had always wondered how they were made, and how they worked, from the moment she saw her first Aes Sedai and Warder. They had wanted passage on the Leaping Gull, and Tovra had turned them down. They stuck in her mind now, particularly the Gaidin. She was like him, now.

Apprehension, expectation of the enemy, flowed gently through the bond. She began to suspect it would be a constant for a while.

xxxx

"Of course we will have time to get you a cloak. I have to run up to my room to get some things, and I will meet you in the practice yard. Just tell one of the other Warders there that Zarin Sedai sent you for a cloak. If they don't believe you, just wait for me."

Already standing, Zarin grasped the bundle of her papers in one hand. What to do with these. If found by the wrong eyes, it would be dangerous to herself, her Warder, and the Dragon Reborn. Coming to a decision, Zarin embraced saidar.

She let just a trickle through, when all she wanted was to open herself up to the sweetness and let it consume her. With an effort, Zarin kept it to that small trickle and wove a thread of Fire and Air into the bundle. Tying it off, Zarin let go of saidar. Stepping clear from Tovra and any stray papers and books, Zarin let the bundle fall.

As soon as it left her hand, the bundle stopped falling. Suspended in mid- drop by the weave of Air, the papers caught on fire. Once they were all ash, the weaves dissolved. Turning back to Tovra, Zarin smiled. "Shall we go now?"

xxxx

Tovra watched with interest as Zarin Sedai let her papers fall, then burnt them with the power. _What could be so important that you burnt it instead of hiding it?_ A million and one questions swirled in Tovra's mind as she looked at her Aes Sedai.

"Shall we go now?" Tovra was startled out of her thoughts, blinking at Zarin. _Oh._

"Yes, of course," she said, nodding slightly. She strode steadily towards the door a step behind Zarin, pausing to scoop up her weapons. She buckled them on as she walked, attaching sword, and sword breaker, at her hips and back. Her quiver she picked up as well, her bow tucked into a special casing on it. Patting her pockets to check her coiled bow strings, she channeled, releasing the soothing scents of her sniff-box.

Parting ways with Zarin at a bend in the corridor, she headed straight as an arrow from the string to the Practice yards. A Warder cloak. She truly had become a different person from the one she once was. Before she knew it, she was outside, the cool currents of air whipping away all but the strongest scents from her box.

Entering the Practice Yard and carefully stepping away from anyone practicing, she headed straight towards a Gaidin, chin held high.

"Zarin Sedai has sent me for a Warder cloak," she told the muscular man firmly. She would not be barred now. They stood in a deadlock for a moment, both struggling without moving to gain the upper hand. Perhaps it was the fierce fire in her eyes, the knowledge of her quest and Aes Sedai... But after a split second, he relented, grinning.

"This way," he said, and walked off, into the Warder barracks. She followed him, excited, as he lead her deeper and deeper into the rooms. At last, they came to a large oak door, figures of the Old Tongue engraved deep into it, the handle worn with Ages of use. It was used now, swinging open silently on well-oiled hinges. The clean, yet slightly musty scent of the room came over her like a gentle wave, as they moved into the room. Moving to a shelf, he carefully removed a fold of cloth, holding it almost reverently.

"Here," he said, smiling lightly and holding it out. She took it slowly, letting it flow from her hands till it hung before her. The colours moved like liquid, shifting from blacks to greys to browns, matching those of the man behind it. It seemed as if she almost held nothing, so light and airy it seemed in her fingers. It shimmered like quicksilver now, its own welcome to her.

She gazed at it a moment more, then swung it onto her shoulders proudly. The man looked on with approval touched with amusement, a man who had seen this happen often.

She looked up at him again. "It's beautiful," she murmured. Without replying, he twisted, heading back the way he had come. Speaking over his shoulder as he moved through the dark passages, he said, "Welcome, to the Warders."

"It is customary," he informed her, "for a new Warder to wear their cloak for the first week. After that, wear it whenever you need to, whenever you travel."

"I suggest," he said with a wry smile as they reach the courtyard once more, "That you do not wear it when Whitecloaks are present?" Nodding at her, he disappeared into the barracks again.

Shaking her head, she headed to where Zarin, her Aes Sedai, was waiting for her.

xxxx

Once Tovra was out of sight, Zarin walked faster to her rooms than she ever thought she would. Embracing saidar, Zarin directed thread-thin weaves of Earth and Air into the doorknob. Earth would unlock the door, and Air would disable the traps she had laid.

With flows of Air and Spirit cable-thick readied, Zarin pushed the door open and ventured in. After a complete search of her rooms and finding no one, Zarin grabbed a change of clothes, her shawl, and several bags of coins.

Upon exiting her room, Zarin wove a barrier around the room, hiding the weaves so no Aes Sedai could sense it. Stepping back, Zarin studied her work. Anyone that could channel the One Power would be unable to enter the room without a few... surprises.

With everything she needed, Zarin rushed out to the practice yard. "Zarin Sedai." Zarin stopped and looked around. An Accepted was coming toward her. "Zarin Sedai, I was told to give this to you," the Accepted said, holding out a piece of folded paper.

Zarin blinked and took the paper. "Thank you, child," she said absentmindedly. Walking slowing out to the practice yard, Zarin stared at the paper she had been given. Through the bond, Zarin felt a surge of joy. Tovra must have gotten her cloak.

Zarin broke the seal on the paper- it had been the Flame of Tar Valon, every Aes Sedai had one- and unfolded it. It just had two simple words written in a plain hand, but it was enough to make her afraid.

xxxx

Seconds before Tovra reached her, she felt fear rush through the bond, stopping her in her tracks. She paused where she had been, a span from Zarin's back. Her Aes Sedai faced away from her, neck bent over something. What could be written- for that was surely what it must be, a note- that could instill such fear in such a strong-willed woman? She walked slowly the last few steps, reaching out a hand and placing it on Zarin's arm, her shimmering cloak falling back to reveal her shoulder. She pushed it back carefully.

"What is it, Zarin Sedai?" she asked gently, avoiding seeing the note itself. "Are we still to leave now?"

xxxx

Zarin started when Tovra's arm touched her arm. Thinking it might be a Black sister, Zarin embraced saidar and readied the weaves of shielding.

"What is it, Zarin Sedai? Are we still to leave now?" Zarin let out a sigh of relief at hearing her Warder's voice. She had been an idiot. If she wasn't so wrapped up in the note, she would have noticed the bond, and besides, a Black sister wouldn't be so gentle.

Zarin turned, folding the paper back up. "Yes. We are leaving as fast as we can get horses." Zarin thought of telling her Warder what it said, but decided to wait until they were away from the crowded streets of Tar Valon, and the Tower.

Suiting her own words, Zarin strode over to where the stables were and spoke briskly to the stable boy. "Get two horses, boy. They need to be ones that have endurance. If I find you have cheated me, you will be sorry."

The boy, thoroughly spooked by being threatened by an Aes Sedai, ducked his head and ran off to find the stable master. Zarin held back a sigh. She had no right to scare the boy like that. Just because she was spooked by the letter didn't mean that she could give the stable boy the rough side of her tongue.

xxxx

Tovra followed her Aes Sedai towards the stables, still wondering what the note had said. All in due time, she told herself calmly. She watched with her eyebrows raised as Zarin cut into the stable boy, calling roughly for two strong horses. She gulped. She had never liked horses. Oh, she had learned to ride them fine, but she had always liked the Rakers better. Rakers did what you told them; at least, most of the time.

As the boy ran off, Tovra edged over to Zarin, lowering her voice so none of the hired hands in the stables could make out her words.

"Where are we going, Zarin Sedai?" she asked softly. "You do not have to tell me now, if it will take too long," she added, still unsure how formal she should act around Zarin. Calling her Zarin was all well and good, but in public was completely unknown territory. _So is private, for that matter, _she grimaced to herself.

xxxx

"Where are we going, Zarin Sedai? You do not have to tell me now, if it will take too long." Zarin looked back at Tovra. "I will tell you when we are out of Tar Valon," she promised. A stable boy- a different one, Zarin noted- led out two horses.

Zarin took the reigns of the silver from the stable boy. "What is her name?" she asked. The stable boy looked slightly shocked that an Aes Sedai spoke to him. "M-Meara." Zarin nodded absentmindedly as she stroked the silver's neck.

Swinging into the saddle, Zarin was glad that she had been wearing a dress with divided skirts. Catching some apprehension through the bond, Zarin smiled at Tovra. "I would take a ship, but the Sea Folk would most definitely deny me passage, and if I cannot get a Sea Folk ship, it would not be worth it."

With one last pat on the neck, Zarin took the reigns firmly in her hands and headed out of the Tower grounds. Zarin slipped the letter into her saddlebags; a reminder of the danger would come in handy every now and then.

xxxx

"I would take a ship, but the Sea Folk would most definitely deny me passage, and if I cannot get a Sea Folk ship, it would not be worth it."

Tovra smiled sadly at Zarin. She would be refused passage? Likely it would be her that made the Windfinders turn them away immediately. After her... banishment... her description had been circulated by the Mistress of Ships... no Atha'an Miere would even acknowledge her now, if not spit in her face. _What is in the past is in the past, _she told herself firmly. There would be plenty of time for self-pity later. Besides, once they were out of the city, she would find out where they were going- and why.

Tovra swung quickly into the saddle, imitating Zarin. She sat straight, holding the reins loosely and calmly restraining the dancing animal. These horses actually weren't that bad- she rather liked them, actually- but they could never match a ship.

She slowly followed Zarin out of the grounds of the Tower, relaxing and deciding to enjoy the ride. The swaying of the horse was almost like being on the deck of a ship again. She could almost feel the spray...

A pang of homesickness struck her heart, and she quickly turned her mind to other matters. She stayed silent as they rode through the city, displaying her new Warder's cloak proudly.


	4. Caemlyn

Zarin kept silent as she rode her horse out of Tar Valon. The guards let her by, knowing she was Aes Sedai. In her mind, she kept running through a list of the people that could be Black Ajah in the Tower.

"Tovra." Zarin could feel the other woman through the bond, and knew that she had stayed close. Zarin slowed her horse down so that her Warder was parallel with herself.

"I did not want to speak of my plans where any could hear. The note I received..." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "I have been tracking the Black Ajah. They will have studied the Prophecies of the Dragon, trying to turn the Dragon Reborn."

Looking at her Warder, Zarin firmed herself. "Tovra, they know my plans. I have had to change everything that I was planning, because they know. I am certain. They do not send messages to every sister leaving saying, 'We know.' I do not know where to begin now. What do you suggest?"

xxxx

Tovra stilled her face, barely keeping her jaw closed as her thoughts raced. The Black Ajah... and they know her- our plans? She whistled aloud then. So they could not continue on where they had planned on going...

"What do you suggest?"

Tovra started, the request unexpected. She hadn't been asked her opinion on anything that was not her decision alone. Her mind raced, trying to think of something useful to say.

"Where would we have gone?" she asked her Aes Sedai tentatively. Perhaps they had told her they knew her plans purely so she would change them... that might mean they were on the right track!

xxxx

"I was planning on heading to Caemlyn." Another choice had been Cairhein. The Dragon Reborn seemed to have set up his forces at both places, but Caemlyn had won.

Zarin heeled her horse to a faster trot. It would be wonderful if the Talent of Traveling was rediscovered, so then she could be where ever before the Black Ajah knew of it. But, the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills.

The library in Tar Valon was massive, but they had barely anything on the lost Talents. Zarin began thinking to herself about Tovra. Why had she left her people? She was powerful; certainly they valued her. Maybe she had run away?

'Why' was the question of the Age. So many questions. Zarin wasn't aware that she had murmured the last part out loud.

xxxx

Tovra tapped her chin, thinking. Caemlyn or Cairhein. The Dragon Reborn did seem to have forces at both locations... Tovra kicked her horse lightly as Zarin sped up their pace.

Zarin began murmuring to herself, and Tovra couldn't help but listen... the last words were spoken louder, and Tovra blinked at Zarin. Maybe she had run... had Zarin been speaking of her? A slight smile crept onto her face as she thought of what to tell her Aes Sedai.

"No, I didn't run away," she told Zarin sadly. "I was... how do you put it? Cast out." She settled back into her seat, her bright eyes taking on a glazed look as they remembered the past. "I was the Windfinder of the Leaping Gull," she said, fingering a medallion of the bird, surrounded by currents of air. "And I... stepped beyond my place." She looked down, staring at the pommel of the saddle.

"_No! Please!" Tovra's screams echoed across the harbor, the people from the Shore looking quickly, then looking away just as fast. Sea Folk were not their business. Tovra looked helplessly at her friends, who encircled her, one by one, pleading silently for them to help her. One by one, they looked away, showing their palms to her and hiding their eyes with their other hand. The gesture of disownment._

"No!" cried Tovra, lying on the deck at the feet of her Wavemistress, and the Mistress of Ships. They looked down at her with pitiless eyes, cold and hard. They would grant her no mercy. The Mistress of Ships began to speak.

_"Tovra din Akarn Black Sails, former Windfinder of the Leaping Gull," she began, causing Tovra to wince. "You have assaulted a Wavemistress," she stated, the indicated woman raising her chin in acknowledgement. "For this, you are cast from our clans." Tovra began to sob. _I only slapped her with the Power, _Tovra thought, hopelessly trying to make excuses to herself. The Wavemistress of the Leaping Gull, for all her dignity, sported a dark black eye, and a bright red bruise on her cheek. _The woman called me an urchin!_ she thought fervently._

_"You are to never come back," she continued, the iron hand of justice. Placing a strong hand under Tovra's chin, she hauled her to her feet. Holding Tovra's chin with one hand, she unhooked Tovra's face chain at both ends, dropping it into one hand. She clasped that hand at her side, looking into Tovra's eyes._

_"I no longer know you," she spoke woodenly, and threw the chain overboard, releasing Tovra. Tovra ran to the side of the ship, diving overboard without hesitation. She mustn't loose that chain. She dove after it, seeing it glint as it sunk to the bottom of the deep harbor. Far below the surface, she caught it, then rocketed to the air. Swimming strongly to shore, she climbed, gazing longingly back at her ship. Attaching her chain again, she channeled to dry her clothes, and began walking, determined to begin her life anew._

Tovra shook her head, clearing the dusty cobwebs of the past from her head as quickly as they had been re-spun.

"After I... left... I began again," she said emotionlessly, almost as if she wasn't speaking of herself. "I worked as a Healer, a hired hand... a thief..."

She looked into Zarin's eyes. "Then I came here."

xxxx

Zarin blinked and looked at Tovra. She was ready to say that she hadn't spoken when Tovra did. "I was... how do you put it? Cast out." Zarin felt sadness sweep through the bond, then it was gone.

Zarin listened to Tovra's quiet explanation. Overstepped her place? Zarin thought of how that would be possible. Zarin looked down at her horse's neck. It hadn't been her place to ask if it brought bad memories.

"After I... left... I began again. I worked as a Healer, a hired hand... a thief..." Zarin looked up and found herself meeting Tovra's eyes. "Then I came here."

Zarin nodded, before asking, "How did you find yourself in the Library?" The Library of Tar Valon was well known, but hardly anyone came down there except for a few Browns. If she had been directed down there for a certain reason, that was a different matter. She might have been doing research.

But there was always the chance that a Black sister had asked her to retrieve a bundle of papers, of something like that. Zarin refused to believe her Warder was a Darkfriend, but the Black Ajah could still have tried to use her...

xxxx

"How did you find yourself in the Library?"

Tovra blinked at the question, confused again. What did that have to do with anything? _Aes Sedai truly _are _strange,_ she thought with a mental shrug. She laced her fingers together, the reins hanging lightly from her crossed hands. Patting her steed's neck absently, she replied.

"The library?" she said aloud. She shrugged again, rolling her shoulders. "I don't really know. Since I started wandering, I've just been searching for something to do. I heard in Tarabon that the White Tower had the largest libraries anywhere..." A lopsided grin appeared on her face. "And I wanted to know some of my people's..." she cleared her throat, cheeks burning. "...the Atha'an Miere's history."

"I never really listened to all the old legends," she said, tilting her head, then shaking it slightly. "It didn't really matter anyway," she said apologetically. "It was just something to pass the time." She relaxed into her seat again, relieved that they had drifted away from the question asked of her.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Zarin let her horse walk into the city of Cairhien. She looked around, mainly at the people. One thing caught her eye, though. The Dragon banner on the Sun Palace. She had grown up here, and it was odd seeing a banner other than the rising sun above the Palace.

The journey had been long, but she had never expected it to be differently. The people looked at them when they rode through and associated the ageless face with Aes Sedai, but they probably would never connect Zarin Sedai with Zarin Amarith, the innkeeper's daughter that left so long ago. Most likely, the only ones that would even know her name either were dead, or had a headful of white hair, while she wasn't even starting to gray yet.

"I was thinking, Tovra, that we would stay at an inn. I hear that the Dragon started a university of sorts. Would you like to see that?" Zarin herself would. The rumors of what was there had made her wish she was there since the first time she heard it.

xxxx

Tovra looked warily around, her colour-shifting cloak swirling around her in the cool breeze. The Dragon's Banner flapped above the Sun Palace, enough to make any Warder- anyone at all, for that matter- wary. People looked at Zarin's face and scurried away, or did not recognize it- the ones that did not were few. Under her cloak, a hand rested on her sword- she didn't dare advertise she was a Channeling Gaidar, not here, but neither should they be unprotected. Was it not here that duel were often fought?

She focused on her Aes Sedai as she spoke. "I was thinking, Tovra, that we would stay at an inn. I hear that the Dragon started a university of sorts. Would you like to see that?" She turned her head, looking at Zarin, a slight smile quirking up the corner of her mouth. Well, she was a Brown, even if she usually did not act like one...

"Of course, Zarin Sedai," she said calmly, adding the title for the public's sake. Aes Sedai were always to be shown respect where others could watch. "That would be... interesting..." She shared a small look with Zarin, then turned her horse to the street she had heard the 'university' was on, one hand still on her sword, head swiveling to watch the crowd.

xxxx

Zarin's horse automatically followed Tovra's down the street to where the academy was. Blinking, Zarin looked around as she lost her train of thought. Once she recognized where they were, Zarin heeled her horse into a trot.

Up ahead, Zarin could see the academy rizing above the other buildings. A woman met them at the door with a curtsy. "Aes Sedai, I welcome you to the academy of the Lord Dragon." Zarin nodded to the woman as she swung off her horse. "Tovra and myself would like to look around, if that is alright by you." The woman's eyes flickered to Tovra, then back. "Of course, Aes Sedai."

Zarin walked into the academy and looked at several of the things on display. Fingering some of the items, she moved on. Absentmindedly, she thought to herself, I wonder if they have any interesting books. "Fascinating, isn't it, Tovra?"

xxxx

Tovra inclined her head politely to the woman who came out the ornate building, dismounting calmly. There's no reason to be nervous, she told herself sternly. It's not like the Dragon Reborn himself will come swooping down on us... She strode briskly towards Zarin as her Aes Sedai told the woman they wanted to look around, stopping just behind her right shoulder. The woman smoothly nodded her assent, and they moved inside.

Zarin was immediately drawn to the mysterious things on display, her streak of Brown showing. Tovra could not even begin to guess the purpose of the items, or indeed if they had one.

"Fascinating, isn't it, Tovra?" Zarin asked, startling Tovra from her close examination of a miniature sword, perfect in every detail. I'd wager that even the balance is perfect, she thought, turning to face her.

"Yes, very," she said, still eyeing the sword. "I wonder where they got it all?"

xxxx

Zarin walked through the academy of Cairhein, looking at all the different items that they had on display. Only part of her mind was on what she was studying. Cairhein was most definately under this Lord Dragon's rule.

She had heard that he was very cautious about Aes Sedai. Zarin didn't want to be anywhere near here when he found out there was another Aes Sedai in the city. But how to leave quick enough not to draw attention? That was the real problem.

_If these Asha'man had found the lost art of Traveling, would they let an Aes Sedai learn them?_ Zarin smiled to herself. It was highly unlikely that her Warder would allow her to walk right into a pit of Asha'man that could kill the both of them without batting an eye.

But, since they were here in Cairhein, why not enjoy the stay? At least, until the Dragon Reborn came back. Finding a nice inn would be easy, but Zarin would feel uncomfortable staying in her parent's old inn. "Tovra, do you know of a nice inn here in the city?" Zarin asked, turning to look at her Warder.

xxxx

Tovra stuck close to Zarin as she wandered through the academy, considering the items with half a mind. Her shifting cloak still lay draped over her form, though she didn't have to wear it here. It was good to remind people though, that a Warder lay in their mist. And all that entailed. _I'm lucky I haven't had to live up to that reputation yet, _she thought wryly.

She realized she was glaring, however, when a serving girl squeaked, jumping away mumbling excuses when Tovra's gaze fell upon her. _Stop it, fool girl,_ she growled at herself, lightening her face so thunderheads didn't dance upon it.

"...do you know of a nice inn here in the city?" Zarin asked suddenly, turning to face her. Tovra bit her lip for a second, thinking. She had been in this city before, working as a wealthy merchant's guard. They had stayed at a nice, respectable inn, known for it's reputable customers. A few Aes Sedai stayed there, but not many; enough that they wouldn't be remarkable.

"Yes," she replied slowly. "The Smoking Grotto, I believe, is quite a nice one. On Ogier lane, I believe."


	5. The Black Ajah

The Smoking Grotto... Zarin thought about that for a minute, before nodding. That would do. Zarin turned and walked out of the academy and swung back into her horse's saddle. Ogier Lane. Let's see. That would be over that way...

Zarin heeled her horse into a walk, guiding it through the small crowds. "Ah, there it is." Zarin dismounted and handed her reigns to a young boy, along with a gold coin. Like most Browns, Zarin didn't pay much attention to the amounts of money she had left. Zarin walked in the inn, and smiled at the innkeeper, an older woman that was pleasantly plump. "I would like a room, if you would be so kind. Also a private dining room, if you have one."

The innkeeper nodded and offered to show Zarin to a room. Zarin smiled and nodded absentmindedly, already moving on to a different problem. She followed the innkeeper up the stairs, to the room. "Your private dining room is just down the hall, right there." Zarin thanked her, and opened the door to their room as she spoke. "Now, Tovra, to decide what to do next."

xxxx

Tovra followed Zarin silently, her cloak fluttering heavily around her as they made their way through the streets. She smiled to herself as Zarin absentmindedly handed a coin to the stable boy, showing a glint of gold. _I know Aes Sedai don't have to be stingy,_ she thought with an inward laugh, _But I don't think we have_ that _much gold..._ She made a mental note to convince Zarin to let her hand out the bribes. They walked into the well-kept building past the gaping boy, and Tovra studied the occupants of the common room. _Good. No Aes Sedai here... right now, anyways. I'll have to ask the innkeeper a little later._ She _did_, however, take notice of a hard set man in the corner, glowering out from under a deep cowl and sipping sullenly at his ale. _That one could be trouble._

They moved up to the room Zarin had requested. "Now, Tovra, to decide what to do next," Zarin said as she opened the door. Tovra waited until Zarin was fully into the room before she moved, swiftly closing the door behind them.

"What to do, indeed," she said, still thinking of what they had seen at the Dragon's university. She rested her chin in her hand, sitting on a wooden chair. "You realize, of course," she said, "that if the Dragon is in Cairhien, he will know of us almost immediately." It was a simple statement of fact. Although far from uncommon, the arrival of an Aes Sedai would be noted, and she had heard everything in this city eventually got to the Dragon.

xxxx

"Yes, of course. I wouldn't expect anything less of the Dragon. If he didn't know everything that went on here, I would question the safety of the world." Zarin understood that the other Aes Sedai would always try to trick the Dragon, or weasel their way into his favor. Zarin had another plan. "Tovra, how do you think the Dragon Reborn would act if an Aes Sedai were to ignore him all together?" Zarin wasn't planning on angering him. Not exactly. But if she could hide her presence as long as possible, that would suit her purposes even better.

Embracing saidar, Zarin wove careful flows that she had read about in a dusty book found in the depths of the library. She couldn't explain what she was doing; all she knew was that she was shielding their ability to channel from anyone that might be able to sense it. "Hmmm... That should work, but..." Following the instructions from yet another book that she had hidden away in the depths of her mind, Zarin wove something that... seemed to invert the weaves she had placed. That was the only way that she could describe it. "You will call me Mistress Kaeli at all times while we are still in the city. What name would you like?"

xxxx

Tovra watched interestedly as her Aes Sedai wove Saidar around the two of them, a weaving she hadn't seem before. _It looks almost like a mirror,_ she thought, recalling the shiny plate of brass her mother had owned. _Like it would prevent others from seeing our ability to Channel. Strange._ Her interest grew when she could no longer see the weaving itself, but she kept her thoughts to herself. Zarin almost always had a good reason for what she did, and now would be no different.

"Mistress Kaeli, hm?" she said, rolling the name across her tongue to get used to it. She unclasped her Warder's cloak, folding it up so only the inside showed and stowing it in a saddlebag. If Zarin did not want their ability sensed, it would do no good for her to walk around wearing a banner. Anyways, cloaks like that were of little use in a city.

"I would like to be called... Eithne. If it pleases you, Mistress," she said, a smile on her lips. Eithne had been a good friend as a child. Her smile faded slightly as she remembered the last time she had seen that friend.

"So, what is our first course of action?" she asked, slinging a plain brown cloak over her shoulders.

Zarin sat back in one of the chairs. "Our course of action? We wait, and listen." For what, she wasn't sure. But she would know when she it came. "But for now, Eithne, we should get some rest. In the morning we can go and gather information." Zarin smiled.

xx

The next day dawned bright and early, not at all foreboding, as Tovra had read of in books. _The hero always gets a bloody warning,_ she grumbled to herself, her hand tense on the hilt of her slender sword. Her sword breaker still lay in the inn, and she felt its loss keenly now. Two warders stood behind the Aes Sedai in front of Zarin, both large, burly fellows, yet still graceful and deadly. One already had his steal half-bared- the other was as tense as she.

It had been pure bad luck that they had run into the Green. _Not Green. Black,_ she thought venomously. _Black as her heart._ She still didn't know how the woman had found them, nor did she think she ever would. She suspected Zarin didn't know either. They had spent the day wandering the city, listening to snatches of whispered conversations in taverns and trying to look like a pair of refugee woman, just stopping by the city. No need for anyone to concern themselves on their account. On a whim, they had followed a woman, the woman they now faced. She looked little like an Aes Sedai; only a hint of agelessness showed. _She must be a new Sister,_ she thought. _But with two Warders already?_ The woman had entered a dark alleyway, and they followed her, thinking her without protection. She had been waiting for them, the two warders appearing from nowhere.

It was then that she noticed the tight look on the face of the Gaidin on the Black Sister's left. He had his hand tensed, yes, ready to draw his sword; but his face said otherwise, a mixture of fury and fear all mixed into one. _The bond. She's forcing him to do this..._ A sick feeling twisted Tovra's stomach. _Thank the light that will never happen to me._ But now, it seemed that the Black was tensing for battle. With a look of pure agony, one Warder drew his sword, moving forwards a little. The other did so with glee.

_This could be a problem..._ she thought, drawing her own blade and moving to stand before Zarin.

xxxx

Zarin stood calmly in front of the Aes Sedai. Who would have known that she was a Black sister? Blacks would have to have a way to remove the Oaths, or they would be unable to keep secret. The Three Oaths were what made them Aes Sedai. Without them, they were just women that could channel, no better than wilders.

Zarin blinked. This woman was a Black. That made her a Darkfriend. Tovra stepped in front of Zarin, and she moved her head slightly so she could still see the woman and her Warders. "Get ready," she whispered in Tovra's ear.

Thinking of the weaves she wanted, Zarin embraced saidar and slammed a shield down on the Black sister. At the same time, she wrapped all three of them in flows of Air as thick as her wrist. Her idea had worked, in an offhand sort of way. The Black sister hadn't shielded them, since she couldn't sense their ability.

xxxx

"Get ready," Zarin whispered, embracing the Source. Tovra watched glimmers of light slam into place, bonds around the Black Sister and her Warders. She felt more than saw the weave of Spirit slip into place between the Sister and the Source. _Serves you right, Silverpike..._

Abruptly, the Gaidin on her left blinked once, then twice, and his mouth opened, gaping. The look of fear and anger was gone, replaced by... wonder? Relief? A sudden realization swept through her. Was it possible the shield on the Sister had cut the reins that forced him to do what she wanted? Dark eyes glared out of the Black Sister's face as her mouth opened, and Tovra quickly wove a gag for her. _Bloody goat-kissing milk sop,_ she thought at her. The look changed to one of surprise next, and Tovra realized she had just given away their trump card. _Idiot! Fool girl! What were you thinking?!_ she berated herself.

Shaking her head, she turned back to Zarin slightly. "I think you can let the one on the left go," she intoned softly.

xxxx

Zarin looked over at Tovra from the corner of her eye, keeping her main attention on the Black sister. "If that is what you think is best..." Zarin whispered back. Hestitantly, she unraveled the weaves of Air holding the one Tovra had indicated. When that was done, Zarin tied off the weaves around the other two.

The Black sister watched Zarin impassionately, sending shivers down the Brown's spine. "Tovra," Zarin started, "I think we are underestimating her power..."

Just as she finished, her own weaves seemed to... shatter. Zarin stared in frightened shock at the Black sister. A shield was slammed down on Zarin, and all she could think about was what would have happened if she had been holding the weaves at the time. Zarin gathered her composer, standing tall without a trace of emotion on her face, although on the inside, she was seething about how she could have been so careless.

xxxx

A flicker of emotion gave warning less than a second before it happened. The weaves surrounding the Black sister and her loyal Warder dissolved, exploded, and unraveled all at once... Light gleamed darkly around the Darkfriend as a wall of light descended- no, fell- on Zarin. _Shielded,_ she thought grimly. _At least the medallion on me seems to be working..._ Indeed, a similar weave seemed to bounce off an invisible wall around her. _She can still hold me in weaves, though..._ Quickly, she cut off the flows of Power arrowing towards her limbs. The Black grunted as they snapped back, but the warders on either side of her moved forward.

Her sword was still in her hand. Knowing trying to stop the Gaidin with the True Source would be useless, she advanced, waving her steel menacingly. A blast of raw anger surged through the bond. _Aim it at the shield, Zarin!_ she thought desperately. _Aim it at the shield!_ Flowing forward, she engaged the first Gaidin as the Black sister hung back.


End file.
